"It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times" - Yep, That's February!

Well, I've been back from Florida for over a week now and we still have snow outside which is highly disappointing as I gave explicit instructions for it all to be gone by the time I returned from Orlando! Perhaps I didn't say it loud enough as it's threatening to snow yet again tonight.  Enough already!

At least I've got some warm memories of my trip south two weeks ago which included a meet-up with the on-her-way-to-svelte Barb in Saint Augustine where the weather was absolutely gorgeous! It was great to see Barb again even though it was a quick visit before she had to make her way back to Georgia and Morgen and I went in search of spiral staircases.

We found our first batch of stairs - all 219 of them - at the Saint Augustine Lighthouse and Museum which, with a tower that's 165 feet tall, is a pretty good hike but we took our time and made it to the top for some absolutely gorgeous views of the area.

Normally I'm not keen on having my photo taken but I figured that climbing all the way to the top of my very first lighthouse was an auspicious enough occasion to have a photo snapped for posterity.

After climbing back down those same 219 stairs and touring the rest of the museum and grounds, we made our way south in need of some lunch after working up a good appetite and then followed that up with a nice stroll along the beach.  The photo below is Crescent Beach which is a very, very wide expanse of sand!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be there and I wish we'd had more time to spend but there were more spiral staircases calling our name further down the road in Ponce de Leon Inlet.

On our way there we passed this guy who seemed to be having a good time advertising Mulligan's.  Hey, these days a job is a job so good for him for being enthusiastic about his! 

Arriving at Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse - Florida's tallest at 175 feet - we knew that this one was going to be even more of a challenge than Saint Augustine was as even though there are only 203 steps, they are much steeper and narrower. But Morgen and I were there to climb to the top so climb it we did !

It's a little hard to really get a good view of the stairs from this angle but this was taken from almost the top looking back down.  The higher we went, the narrower and steeper the stairways got but again, we took our time and managed to make it to the top of the tower without being too out of breath!

Again I decided to forego that whole wrong-side-of-the-camera-lens thing and have my photo snapped while out on the balcony. It was a lot breezier there than it was in Saint Augustine and, with a narrower balcony deck, it was a lot skeerier, too! But again the views of the surrounding area were more than worth it as well as the chance to say, "I did it, I did it!"

Back on solid ground again once we had navigated the very steep stairs which were trickier going down than they were up, we had just enough time to check out the Fresnel Lens Exhibit before it was closing time.  I have to say that I was in Fresnel Lens Heaven seeing that 16-1/2-foot tall First Order lens in person!  What a magnificent piece of craftsmanship!

After our big day of climbing not one but two very tall lighthouses, Morgen and I took it easy on Wednesday and went to go see "Lincoln" at the local movie theater. I hadn't had a chance to see it yet and was so glad that Morgen didn't mind going to it again as I thought it was very well done.  We finished up our night with appetizers and dessert at The Cheesecake Factory which was quite delicious and a real treat!

On Thursday, even though the forecast was threatening rain, we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure where I had a great time getting turned every which way but loose on several rollercoasters, became totally drenched on the Jurassic Park Adventure Ride, and had a chance to glomp onto Iron Man a little bit! Our last ride of the day was a spin on the Caro-Seuss-el because I just can't pass up a carousel - even if there's nary a horse to be found!

Unfortunately my time in Orlando seemed to fly by and all too soon it was time to come back to Connecticut and the realities of February which has included more snow, temperatures that are way too darned cold, and  all the other the things that make February a rather sad month for me like the one-year anniversary of my good friend Cyndi's passing on the 17th and the ten-year anniversary of my father's death which is coming up tomorrow.  I'm having trouble believing that it's been that long for either of them.

Cyndi and I at Lake Tahoe in April of 1997

Dad and one of his radio-controlled models that he built

Then, as if February couldn't be sad enough, last Saturday evening one of Morgen and Eyad's beloved fur-kids - Peter Pete - threw a blood clot and passed away the following morning following emergency treatment that could only ease his suffering and not prolong his life. I was happy to have had the chance to meet the little fella before his untimely death but that just made it all the more heartbreaking as Pete had rather reminded me a bit of Tesla and I quite enjoyed watching his interactions with Little Isis.  Morgen and Eyad are both still hurting very badly from this sudden loss so if you've got a moment, please send them a good thought or two.  For my money, I've got no doubt that Peter Pete has found his way to Cyndi as she was quite the cat magnet and he'll be well looked after in heaven but I know the guys would rather have him home with them.

Photo Credit:  Morgen's Facebook Page

Finally, to end this post on an up-note, today I launched my very own photography website where I hope to maybe occasionally sell a print or two - hopefully at least enough to cover the nominal monthly hosting fee!  LOrlomoskiPhotography.com was designed by Eyad and I think that he did a phenomenal job!  It's very user-friendly for any potential customers and it's also easy for me to upload new photos and keep the content fresh.  Until March 3rd, I'm offering a coupon good for 20% off the entire purchase which includes free shipping in the United States - not a bad deal if I say so myself!  Should you find yourself over there and want to help a poor starving artist out (or at least help finance my next batch of wanderings!) use coupon code TAKE20OFF and I'll do just that!

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to wishing that this month - and winter - was over already as I try desperately to get my hands warm enough so that I don't have to wear finger-less gloves well working on the computer!  I hope that your February has been good to you! 

A Wonderful Part of Fall Is Coming Soon - Canterbury's Old Home Day!

Even though the official start of autumn is still a few weeks away, for a lot of us it begins as soon as we change the calendar over to September as that's when a lot of fall festivals, fall fairs and other fall fun stuff starts. Maybe that's just a New England thing but what can I say? We love fall up in these parts and as the season itself doesn't last as long as we'd like before it gets shouldered out of the way by Old Man Winter, we start as early as we can!

Next Saturday, my hometown of Canterbury celebrates it's annual fall festival when the Canterbury Historical Society presents Old Home Day which they describe as an:

"... old-timey fall festival that has become a local perennial favorite. Enjoy live music all day long, animals, children’s activities, local farm products, re-enactors, demonstrations by practitioners of many traditional crafts and trades, great food, informative displays by civic and religious groups, and the chance to meet old friends and make new ones. Visit the restored one-room Green District Schoolhouse, complete with historical photos and displays of Canterbury’s one-room-school days."

Once again this year I'll be there as the "official photographer" of the event (I think this will actually be my fourth year if I'm adding it up correctly on my fingers!) and in addition, I'm actually going to try my hand at setting up a booth and maybe selling a card or a print or two of some of my New England photographs. I'm not expecting to rake in the dough like we rake up dry leaves here in the fall but it would be a real hoot to sell even one or two cards. As I'll be busy walking around the festival and taking photos, I've recruited Amanda to man the booth - something she should have no problem in doing being that she has sold her own wares at a convention or two.

If you're in the Canterbury area and want to stop by, Old Home Day takes place on the Canterbury Green - aka the lawn of the First Congregational Church - and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. rain or shine.  Naturally I'm hoping for shine or even just mildly overcast but either way I'll be there with Nikon in hand and perhaps sampling a tasty corn-on-a-stick or some other delicious fall fare while listening to some great music and just enjoying what's become a fun fall tradition.

I've posted some of my favorite pictures from previous Old Home Days just to get in the mood!

Hope to see you there!

Ah, So That's What Using a Different Camera Feels Like!

Leaving my beloved Nikon in the car, yesterday I had the chance to fool around with a top-of-the-line, brand-spanking-new Olympus E-M5 OM-D Series Digital SLR Camera during the Essex Heritage Photo Safari that my friend Juli and I went on in Newburyport that was sponsored by Hunt's Camera and the Essex National Heritage Area.  Even though the camera was very cool in many respects and had some very interesting on-board features such as Art Filter effects and a monitor that swivels both up and down so that you can change the perspective of your shot without having to kneel down or climb up on things along, with a very lightweight body and lens, I'm not really sure if it's a camera that I'd buy.

Part of me really liked it - especially my right arm due to the light weight! - and part of me wasn't so sure about it - some of which I'll chalk up to having spent so much time with my Nikon and not quite sure what to do with a smaller camera!  The part of me that really wasn't sure about it though is the part that registers price being that the model that I was using was about $1,300 with just a 14-42 mm lens.  Ouch!  Amazing technology certainly does come with amazing price tags attached, huh?

Juli was using a version that was a slightly less-expensive Olympus (with a price tag of about $900) than the one that I had and she paid better attention to David Wells, the professional photographer who gave us a bit of advice and instruction before we ventured out into the pretty town of Newburyport to hunt for photographic opportunities, so I think that her photos were loads better than mine when it came to subject matter and composition ... well, except maybe for this one she sneakily took of me trying to figure out how to use my camera by the waterfront ...

or me still trying to figure out how to use the camera in a cheese and wine shop ...

but like these two that she shot when she wasn't taking pictures of me!

As for me, I was busy taking pictures of bottles of wine (if you look in the upper left you can see Juli taking that picture of me above) ...

... and shoes and accessories ...

... and candy ...

... and a hot dog sign ...

... and a steeple that I apparently got fixated on ...

... and a monument by the waterfront ...

... and some bicyclists ...

... and one I took of Juli on the waterfront probably right before she took the one of me!

As you can tell from some of the photos above, I did try out a few of the Art Effects that the camera offered and even though they were cool (I rather do like the "Key Lime" effect on the first steeple picture), I guess I'm just more of a traditionalist than artist when it comes to using a camera.  That said, I had a great time and it was a lot of fun and I might actually have even learned a few things from David, our pro, even though I might not have applied them that well! Let's see what I can do with his tips and my trusty Nikon though!

Oh, and as for Newburyport itself - what a great place!  I'll be heading back up that way again before too long as I continue my travels for that other project I keep alluding to so stayed tuned for more.  Perhaps I can even talk Barb into taking a journey up there with me when she's up visiting her SisterDears in July - there's obviously wine to be found and I think she'd love the area!  Speaking of Barb, I totally befuddled her with yesterday's post that contained no photos at all so I hope that today's post makes up for that!  

A Photographic Year in Review

I had toyed around briefly - very briefly - with the idea of doing a Year in Review sort of post but then after deciding that it sounded way too much like work and I'm all for relaxing on this last day of 2011, that I would simply post one of my favorite photos from each month.  Of course even that was too much like work as I took an awful lot of photos this year but I finally grabbed a Baker's Dozen and called it 'good to go'!

January 29th - On a visit to Kent, Connecticut in the northwest corner of the state, I caught a shot of my favorite Princess at Kent Falls State Park. Note all the snow!

February 20th - Jamie in silhouette at Eastern Point Beach in Groton as we took advantage of a sunny and not-too-cold day in February.  As brutal of a winter as we had (see above!), it was nice to be able to go out and enjoy some sun! 

March 1st - One of my favorite photos from my cruise on the Carnival Glory.  This was a tough pick as I took over 1,000 pictures on my first-ever cruise that I didn't enjoy while I was on but in retrospect liked more than I thought I did! 

April 26th - The Callender Room at the Captain Lord Mansion in Kennebunkport where I stayed when I took myself on a pleasant little trip to Maine for two days.  Talk about luxurious, the picture doesn't do it justice! 

May 13th - This shot was taken when Jamie and I took a trip to Chester, Vermont for a working weekend at the Inn Victoria where I made some wonderful new friends and had a fantastic time!  I've been back up several times since and Chester is just as charming every time I'm there! 

June 16th - I drove myself down to the town of Essex on the Connecticut River and treated myself to lunch at the Griswold Inn, the United States' oldest continuously operating inn!  Their chowder is just as delicious as they say it is! 

July 7th - After putting Jamie on a bus in Toronto so she could spend a few months with a friend in Manitoba, I drove down to Niagara Falls and spent several fantastic days at a lovely bed & breakfast - Kilpatrick Manor - and met one of my long-time blogging buddies, Carol, as I witnessed the wonders of the falls.  It was definitely one of my best trips of the year! 

August 4th - It was back to Boston for Amanda and I as we went to visit the Chihully Exhibit at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.  Well worth the trip even though I had just been in town the week before to attend a Red Sox game with my cousin Amy! 

September 28th - Speaking of my cousin Amy, I flew out to Nashville with her as she attended the International Bluegrass Music Association Conference and quite enjoyed the trip.  We visited the Ryman Auditorium and other Nashville sights - the trip was mighty fine, mighty fine! 

October 6th - The Mountain View Grand Resort in Whitefield, New Hampshire was where this beautiful porch is located.  My mom, Amanda, and I made a one-night trip up to the beautiful historic resort that is located just north of Mount Washington in the White Mountains.  Definitely on my list of "gotta-go-back-there" places! 

November 9th - Speaking of going back, Amanda and I went back to Salem (I have lost count of how many times I've been there this year but I've loved every single visit!)  I took this shot of the Old Burying Point near the Witch Trials Memorial and just loved the sun flare through the tree shining on the headstones.

December 2nd - Did I mention that I went to Salem a lot??  This photo is from the Clarence S. Clark House which was part of Christmas in Salem Historic House Tour that I was able to partially go on being that I had work obligations and couldn't be there for the whole event.  Still, the houses I got to see were beautiful - especially this one! 

Finally, one my very favorite photos of the year was taken once again in Salem when I was there on July 27th with my cousin Amy.  It was a beautiful evening and we spent some time walking around down by the waterfront where I shot this picture of the Friendship docked at Pickering Wharf.  

I have been very, very fortunate to have had the chance to travel to a lot of places this past year and take a lot of pictures. It's been a year filled with new opportunities, new adventures, new and old friends, and a lot of good stuff.  Sure, maybe there were a few not-so-high points but overall I can't complain and I'm quite looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for me.  Just as a guess, I'd be willing to bet there's another trip or two to Salem in there somewhere!

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful new year filled with your own lots of good stuff from which to make wonderful memories with just enough not-so-great stuff to make you appreciative of all the good stuff even more!  That's my plan for the year!